These aren't stalls. These are illegal restaurants with no bathrooms or fire protection systems. It's a health and safety hazard. The government allows these government-subsidized businesses to renovate the government-funded structures into illegal restaurants. Meanwhile the private owners profit. If it burns down, no problem the government will pay the owners for losses and pay for the rebuild. Please don't spend taxpayers money on this.

I agree they shouldn't be settling on private property. The government and the private owners had over 20 years to stop this settlement. Before a generation's life was built around the settlement. My position is the government and private owner both have a greater responsibility for allowing this 20-year settlement. Otherwise, this will happen again. A new illegal settlement for the displaced. These new homeless will need a home.

I'm not here to have a personal argument with you. Focus on the topic, not the individual.

This fire is obviously suspicious during demolition. I want to know if the prime minister visited these 70 homes looked the children and families in their eyes and told them he was going to make them homeless.

What a disgrace. As a country, we must reflect on whether this is who we want to be. This behaviour doesn't reflect the Christian, loving, helpful Bahamas I grew up in.

The Government is wasting the people's time and money just to showboat for their public image. Instead of demolishing we should enforce the law. lack of enforcement is how these towns happened in the first place. The government failed to enforce the law for so long that more and more people built these places until they became a village. Demolition is a quick but ineffective fix. Destroying these people's lives will leave them no other choice but to try it again somewhere else.

Now that the government knows where the shanty towns are. Enforce the law with a long-term sustainable solution:

1. Take an inventory of every building and person in the villages.
2. Regularly patrol the village to prevent any additional development of the land (structures, infrastructure etc). Or any illegal activity (unlicensed business, rentals etc.)
3. fence in the village and create controlled entrances/exits so you can ensure no new adults are moving in long-term

With this, the village is contained and the law is being enforced proactively. The people know that the village will no longer grow and they can't renovate. Now use economic tools to influence them to leave on their own. If they're illegal then process them according to the law or give them a path and timeline to become legal taxpayers.

Enforce property tax collection. Make them pay land rent for occupying land they don't own. If they're illegal and the government doesn't want to deport them then collect an income tax to pay for the public services they are benefitting from. Make it more economical for them to work towards following the law and have them work towards leaving the villages and becoming legal immigrants. Many will leave and some won't. But at least the ones who stay are now paying their way (property rent, taxes etc.)

Seems like the only way the government knows how to enforce the law is to first do nothing and then once someone/people have been so obviously breaking the law that it hurts the government's image they show up with clumsy unsophisticated punishment.

It's like we only know how to govern our people like the previous colonists and slave owners, through fear (beat, hang, throw in dungeons, kill and destroy property). Instead of leading with fear the government should lead by example and with integrity.

Good stuff! Keep nurturing a friendly, competitive, and productive spirit in all areas of your life. Make friends, keep in touch and look out for each other.

The people are too beaten down. They don't realize that the government is their employee not employer or master. I gave up on the people banding together for their rights when the government legalized gambling despite the people voting against it. And we just rolled over and let it happen.

This political mafia class is having a jolly ole time enriching themselves on the backs of Bahamian suffering.

lol, what's new? It's terrible. When will we wake up?

*"He lift the dog up and put him on his shoulder and brought him out to the front area. I thought that was so profound. I thought it was an excellent initiative by the handler."*

He's getting leadership inspiration from the training of a dog? Wow. A dog doesn't get a salary to spend however they please.
Government employees are rewarded by their salaries, pensions and benefits. Also as civil servants, they should get intrinsic and personal satisfaction from serving the community. Otherwise, why did they apply to be a civil servant?
Any bonuses should be for improving the community. Not for performing arrests the basic tasks of the job. The goal should be to get us to the point of not needing arrests because the community is living in peace and harmony.

Are we going to arrest ourselves to a crimeless society? Is that how we get there? Everyone makes mistakes at some point in their lives. I never heard of or met anyone whose life was positively transformed thanks to being arrested. And prison only seems to damage people more creating lifetime criminals.

This guy should be fired. Not leading impressionable young officers.